Asphalt and concrete driveways, sidewalks, parking lots, and tarred roofs develop cracks with aging due to exposure to the weather elements, such as temperature changes, intense solar heating, water, and icing, and due to the treatment pavement receives in use such as heavy loading on a soft or defective foundation.
The typical treatment for cracks in the pavement and roofing is filling and sealing the cracks with an asphalt tar sealant which if properly applied can extend the useful life of the pavement or roofing for many years. The application of tar sealant generally requires a professional with special equipment in the form of a melter, that is, a double-walled heating vessel in which hard chunks of the asphalt tar sealant are melted, and from which the melted sealant is pumped and applied to a crack through a sometimes heated hose and metal wand. Heat from a propane or gas burner is transferred through oil between the double walls of the vessel to the hard chunks of sealant within the vessel, and the temperature of both the oil and the sealant are monitored. Generally the sealant melts and assumes a fluid state above 275° F. The melters are complex and costly pieces of equipment, and require maintenance and periodic cleaning to insure proper operation.
A typical homeowner would not usually have the melter equipment and possibly the skill to apply a hot tar sealant with a melter. Consequently he has the option of applying so-called cold patch material which is typically a composition of granular stone and soft tar. The cold patch material remains soft and pliable at room temperatures, and sets up with compaction. However, the cold patch material does not fill cracks and provide the seal against water or other fluids that is achieved with a hot tar sealant and hence produces far less satisfactory results.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a do-it-yourself product for the application of an asphalt tar sealant to cracks in pavement and a method of application of the sealant.